Not long ago an old friend who lives out East told me I’m a little narrow in my political universe. He called me “close-minded,” and said I’d see the error of my ways if I got a more “fair and balanced” perspective on the world. I hollered about Fox News for a while, for I know “code” when I hear it, even when it’s bunk. He ranted back at me, demanding that I go see America:  Imagine the World without Her, Dinesh D’Souza’s new film. He even offered to send me the money for a ticket, but I passed on that, only imagining the “freeloading liberal” crap I’d hear. I can pay my own way, thank you very much!

No, I haven’t seen the movie yet. More on that in a bit. In the meantime, this D’Souza fellow is one piece of work, let me tell you. He’s done time at the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Hoover Institution, all conservative think tanks. He may be doing more time soon, this time as a guest of the United States of America, for he pled guilty on May 20, 2014 to a felony associated with campaign finance violations. (He made campaign contributions with his own money, in amounts that exceeded lawful limits, using straw people.)

Other than being a political commentator and a senior policy analyst to President Ronald Reagan, the man has seemingly held one real job in his adult life:  He was the president of King’s College, a Christian university in New York City. Alas, that gig lasted less than two years, as the school did not take kindly to his affair with Denise Odie Joseph, his identifying Ms. Joseph as his fiancée when she was still married, or his being married when all of these events transpired.

Am I being too harsh? Probably, and I was tempted to tone this down a bit. But here’s the thing. This guy has been dishing it for his entire adult life. That his views are way Right really bothers me not at all; some of my best friends are “out there” and, while their views offend me, they don’t. That he cheated on his wife is his business, although his “holier than thou/deeply religious” persona makes that situation harder to hear about. And that he violated campaign finance laws, denied having acted wrongfully and claimed he was selectively prosecuted, and admitted his wrongful acts at his plea hearing, seems par for the course for people on all sides.

So, what? The man whines. He whines about everything. Jim Newell’s July 9 post in Salon, Dinesh D’Souza’s Paranoid Nightmare:  Everything Is a Vast Conspiracy against Him, captures Mr. D’Souza well. He claims the New York Times cheats on its best seller list rankings, as he wasn’t happy with his new book’s position. (Right wing authors often get sales help, with conservative groups buying the books by the tens of thousands to inflate sales reports.)

He complained about Costco not selling his book, with allegations from his supporters that Jim Sinegal, the Costco founder/CEO and President Obama supporter, caused the book not to be offered. Never mind that Mr. Sinegal retired in 2012, and that he surely didn’t make Costco as successful as it is by not selling products because they might bother him.

Then there was his griping to Google that when people searched America his movie did not show up. Imagine that! Obviously, more dastardly actions by the Liberal Silicon Valley stooges.

Mr. D’Souza may be a terrific guy. Who knows? Public evidence, however, suggests that he’s a man with lots of opinions, questionable ethics, an inflated sense of self, and a very thin skin. Really a man not worthy of the attention he gets!

Now, about that movie. America will be showing at 2:10 at El Con on Sunday, July 20. I’ll be there, for I do keep my promises … and I can only imagine—with pleasure—what my review will say! I welcome Mark Rubin Writes readers, as I’m happy not to suffer alone. (The movie is 103 minutes long.) The first 10 people who want to attend with me and contact me, off line at markdrubin@gmail.com, are my guests.